Van Kleiss
Van Kleiss is the main antagonist in the series. Like Rex, he can control nanites as well as absorb them from other E.V.O.s. However, while Rex's nanites manifest themselves in the form of machinery, Kleiss' nanites take on the forms of nature, such as vines. He is particularly powerful in Abysus, the site of the Nanite Event. There he can control all of the environment, even regenerating himself from plants if he is destroyed. Kleiss wants to take over the world and start a new era for E.V.O.-kind. To help him accomplish this, he has formed a dangerous group of E.V.O.s called The Pack. He claims to know all about Rex and his past, a fact he often uses to try to persuade Rex to join his cause. It is unknown just what Van Kleiss is seeking in exchange, but it's probable that he sees Rex as a military asset that could help him win the E.V.O. war. History In the beginning, Kleiss was a scientist who was doing nanite research with Dr. Gabriel Rylander. When the Nanite Event occurred five years prior to the series' start, Kleiss and Rex were both in close proximity to the blast. Afterward, Kleiss discovered that he was gifted with the ability to control nanites, just like Rex. Unlike Rex, however, Van Kleiss' nanites are not stable, and he requires a fresh supply to maintain his form. Consequently, Kleiss must periodically absorb the nanites of other E.V.O.s to survive. The Day That Everything Changed We are introduced to our antagonist after Skalamander pushes Rex, Bobo, and Noah into the portal to Abysus. He is first seen walking towards the group as little flowers sprout around his feet as he walks. What follows is an eerie scene where he says who he is and who his Pack is and what they are there for. Van Kleiss then directs them to his castle. As all of them are walking through the deteriorated castle Van Kleiss tells that the nanites are a gift, which Rex swiftly disagrees with. Van Kleiss says that "we're not all savages" and that Rex has barely realized his full potential. Rex wonders how he can know about his potential when he doesn't know anything about his past, to which Van Kleiss says he will tell him about his history. He first tells Biowulf to take Noah and Bobo to the Garden. After they leave he leads Rex to a throne room and tells Rex of the Nanite Event. After he finishes Rex asks what that has to do with him, Van Kleiss replies that it has everything to do with him; at which point numerous roots burst through the castle floor and seize Rex. After a cut to the fight in the Garden we return and hear Van Kleiss say that his body is unstable and requires a constant fresh supply of nanites and that Rex's should be very nourishing. Then the 'pins' on his fingers turn into needles and he stabs Rex's chest with them. Noah and Bobo escape the Pack and rush back into the castle, cutting back to the two we hear our antagonist saying that he's dissapointed in Rex for not putting up a fight. Noah and Bobo get back to where Rex and Van Kleiss are, and Bobo says a one-liner and throws a large rock at Van Kleiss, which gives Rex the chance to fight back. He kicks Van Kleiss into a wall and the three flee on Rex's Boogie Back. They have to dodge gigantic roots and trees trying to take them down as they fly away from the castle. Van Kleiss manifests himself through very large trees and asks where Rex is running to, as Providence will just use him as a weapon and lock him up. This causes Rex's nanites to short out and the three crash into the forest. Van Kleiss's final appearance in the episode is the final fight on Abysus. Van Kleiss keeps Agent Six away and the Pack fight as well. But Rex's nanites re-activate and he goes for the final blow on Van Kleiss with his BFS. It hits and Van Kleiss is cut in half, but it is shown as our main characters leave he resurrects himself from his land. String Theory Van Kleiss only appears at the end of the episode but it is clear that he had his Pack kidnap Peter Meechum's daughter Sarah Meechum so that Peter would be forced to work for him. Biowulf reports that Meechum has been cured and Van Kleiss has no outward response. Beyond the Sea Van Kleiss learns from Biowulf that his new recruit Circe, had help from Rex in defeating a Sea Monster E.V.O. Yet Van Kleiss lets her join anyway. Leader of the Pack We see Van Kleiss arrive with his Pack in a strange whale blimp E.V.O. Providence, who caught wind of the E.V.O. in restricted air space, has sent units of solders and Rex and Agent Six to intercept it. When it is revealed to Rex who is in the E.V.O. he immediately attacks. He cannot land any blows on Van Kleiss (though he tries) due to his Kleiss's diplomatic immunity. Rex is understandably annoyed at this but until Van Kleiss or one of his Pack break that immunity they are untouchable. We next see him, Biowulf, and Skalamander at a formal party. He greets Rex and Doctor Holiday politely, brushing off Rex's accusations and tells him that "not everything is about you". After Rex is captured he ends the party, thanking all the guests before leaving himself. After that he is seen with The Pack (minus Circe) walking into the UN building. Biowulf tells Van Kleiss that Rex has escaped, but Van Kleiss says it doesn't matter. After an interlude he steps up to the pedestal and addresses all present. As he is speaking he uses his powers to rise above everyone, trap all inside, and begin to cover all of the city in roots. Rex and Van Kleiss fight soon after this, with Rex ultimately figuring out how to defeat Van Kleiss as his native soil is dumped into the East River he becomes significantly less powerful but still summons vines to subdue Rex (by trying to strangle him). But after the soil has diffused too much all the roots and vines wither and break apart, freeing Rex, who then punches Van Kleiss (it was a very good punch too). He stops Rex from killing him by saying that he knows about Rex's parents, which shocks Rex. Van Kleiss then takes the opportunity to flee on a giant fly-like E.V.O. Dark Passage In this episode, Van Kleiss is trying to take control of an Amazon base. He is seen with half The Pack with him. He knocks out Gabriel Rylander a scientist who knows about Rex's past. He is last seen pushed into an unstable nanite reactor and seemingly (as far as we know) vaporized along with Dr. Gabriel Rylander. It is presumed he is dead because Agent Six said "Van Kleiss has been eliminated." But, Agent Six said this according to what he heard from Rex, which is exactly what he tells White Knight. What Lies Beneath Due to what happened to Van Kleiss at the Amazon base, Abysus has become unstable. Circe, Biowulf, and Skalamander had to lure Rex, Agent Six, and Dr. Holiday to Abysus where the only way to stop the unstable nanite spreading is to power a device that will resurrect Van Kleiss. Rex ends up doing it when everyone else starts to drown in the nanite fluid. When Van Kleiss is revived, he absorbs the nanites and continues in exchange that Rex swears his allegiance. Rex eventually does and when he shakes Van Kleiss' hand, Rex knew that the nanites in him were different and ends up curing him of the nanites. Van Kleiss had stated that he was "uncurable" until what just happened. Before Rex can bring him in to Providence custody, Breach appeared and got Van Kleiss away from Rex at the last minute while the rest of the Pack escapes. Payback Van Kleiss later returns in full E.V.O. form with no apparent explanation, using a spy on a Providence airship Van Kleiss hijacked the ship and crashed it into the Providence base. Van Kleiss also drained Rex's Nanites giving himself the abillity to turn anyone he touches into a E.V.O. (such E.V.O.'s are marked with a yellow hand print). However Rex is eventually was able to inject himself with a supply of active nanites, regained his powers plus new ones, and successfully defeated Van Kleiss, sadly Van Kleiss is able to get away using the explosives planted in the base as a distraction. Personality Van Kleiss is manipulative and clever, seizing opportunities to further his plans and often tries to get anything that he could use to his advantage. He is cold and ruthless when it comes to what he wants, it is evidenced that if one does not comply with Van Kleiss's orders that he'll kill them by draining their nanites for nourishment and put their petrified body in his "garden". Van Kleiss talks in a polite manner most of the time, even in battle or taunting his opponents. He also treats the Pack members with high respect, although he will kill them if they ever make him angry enough. He has a bit of a humorous side to him shown in "Leader of the Pack" during his battle with Rex, when he stopped in mid-battle just to ask Rex why was he "taking out his frustrations on a wall". However, Van Kleiss's polite attitude is just a way to hide the darker side of his personality, but it was been able to trick many people at first (including Rex, Bobo, Noah, and the U.N. delegates) before seeing his malevolent nature. In "Leader of the Pack" he is shown to be an apt planner, secretly putting his nanite infused soil under the city to make himself as powerful as he is in Abysus as he attempts to take over the UN. He keeps a level head nearly all of the time, even in a situation when the odds are against him. He has a strong dislike toward Providence. He stated he does not like them meddling with his plans. Also, he does not like the fact that people see Providence as "saviors", while Van Kleiss sees himself as the true "savior". In the episode "Leader of the Pack", he purposely did not announce his arrival in New York City or about his diplomatic immunity, so that Providence would attack him and his henchmen, just for the purpose of humiliating them. Relationships See also: Biowulf : Biowulf is the second in command of The Pack and is leader of all the missions outside Abysus, seeing as Van Kleiss is limited to his home. Biowulf is very loyal to him. See also: Breach : Breach is a very useful asset to The Pack given her abilities. See also: Skalamander : He's the group's brute force and has great defensive capabilities. See also: Circe : She evidently tried to join the Pack on her own, her apparent use to Van Kleiss is that Rex wants to be close to her. And her ability to attract other E.V.O.s. she is quite possibly his third in command although this is unsure as she was not part of the systematic attack on providence, that or she was in charge of abysis durring the attack on providence. See also :'Jungle Cat E.V.O.' : An E.V.O. who showed promise, but after he accidentally destroyed Van Kleiss's nanite dirt suit in "Dark Passage." He is then petrified by Van Kleiss who his drained nanites and which turned him to stone. Then his stone form is knocked to the ground by Biowulf. See also: The Pack See also: Rex : Van Kleiss's true relationship with Rex is unknown as of now. He claims to know about Rex's past and his family but will only reveal this if Rex joins him. They have already fought each other several times and Rex is determined to take Van Kleiss down. He also claims that Rex is very important to him, for what though is a mystery. Although Rex is very important to him, he notes he will kill Rex if he get in his way. The two have been shown ready to kill each other, but so far they have been interrupted each time. It seems that Rex is not his main target, but could be a primary target, since he stated to Rex that "not everything is about you". See also: Gabriel Rylander : They evidently worked together on research for the Nanite Project before the series start. They come face to face again in "Dark Passage" where he stops Rylander from telling Rex key information about his family by stabbing him with the needles on his bio-mechanical hand. Van Kleiss tells Rylander he knows nothing of truth, or loyalty and that he will continue the research they started on his own. Rylander saved Rex from further harm when he was down by knocking both himself and Van Kleiss into the unstable Nanite Reactor. Rylander is assumed to be dead, while Van Kleiss was able to be revived. Appearance He is tall and broad, always clad in dark clothes and boots that seem to be a part of him as it regrows as he does when he resurrects himself. He has several apparently mechanical parts from his right arm to his chest. The most notable is his large golden, bio-mechanical hand that he uses to drain nanites from other E.V.O.s. The tips of the fingers end in large, blunt 'pins', only when he's about to feed do the 'pins' extend into needles. The outer band of his bio-mechanical hand glows bright yellow when he is feeding as well. After being cured, Van Kleiss's hand was fully restored back into a normal hand. The other inorganic parts of him are a large circular yellow hole in his chest that is linked to a large metal collar and possibly down to his right hand. These are no doubt functional for something. His face is long and drawn under the eyes, which are a dark red. In "Leader of the Pack" he was shown with a black suit, and his hair slicked back during a formal event. Powers and Abilities In his homeland of Abysus he is very powerful. He is able to control the whole environment and summon strong roots and creepers that can grab, hold up things, and aid his movement. He could even make it rain at just one spot. He can do all this as the whole land is seeded with his nanites. He can also form the roots out of his body and use them as weapons. While in Abysus, he seem to be immortal and can regenerate himself no matter how great the wound. He is so powerful in Abysus, that his enemies would not dare attack him there. Providence once sent an army to save Rex in Abysus, but in the end they were all wiped-out with ease. Six is the only survivor of the rescue team. Though more of a survival mechanism than a power, Van Kleiss can also use his bio-mechanical hand to drain the nanites out of other E.V.O.s, resulting in the E.V.O. being petrified and turned into a stone statue. On trips out of Abysus, he is seen transporting Abysus soil with him. It is show he would die without his nanite infused soil, or at least be severely weakened. Van Kleiss is shown to control an army of E.V.O.s under his command. His most powerful and elite E.V.O.s are formed into a group known as "the Pack". It is currently unknown how he is able to control the less intelligent E.V.O.s, while more intelligent ones could have been "persuaded" to join his cause. After being cured by Rex, Van Kleiss loses all of his powers as an E.V.O., but claims he still has his greatest power, his intellect. When he reappears later, rather than his hand, his entire arm is bio-mechanical. It has the power to stretch out, though the limitations of this are unknown. It also appears to possess superhuman strength as it is able to lift Agent Six during their battle in "Payback". After absorbing Rex's powers, Van Kleiss is able to create E.V.O.s. These E.V.O.S. are marked with a Yellow handprint where he grabbed them. While he posseses theses new ablilities, it appears that he does not have any of his old nature generating abilities as he did not use them durring his fight against Providence Agents or Rex. Trivia * Van Kleiss has many similarities to the classical vampire Dracula. He is very difficult to kill and can resurrect himself as well. He has to lethally feed off of others to survive and can only live on his native soil. His home is a deteriorating castle in an eerie, dark homeland, and he now has the power to make others into E.V.O.s like himself. * Van Kleiss will drain nanites from his own Pack members if they upset him enough. * Van Kleiss's powers could be considered the opposite of Rex's powers. While Rex can control and form machines, Van Kleiss can control and form nature. * Both Rex and Kleiss can absorb nanites. However, Rex uses his power to help by curing E.V.O.s, while Van Kleiss uses his for survival and to punish those who displease him. * It was noted by Six that Providence knew about Van Kleiss and the Pack before Rex met them. They never caused any problems before the start of the series, but Providence still kept their eye on them. It was not until the start of the series that the Pack started to commit crimes against Providence and later the world. * Van Kleiss is the first character in the series to be seen bleeding. * Van Kleiss now has the ability to turn people into E.V.O.s after absorbing Rex's nanites. * Van Kleiss appears to have lost his regenerating and nature generating abilities after being cured by Rex. He can, however, control the length of his mechanical hand. Category:Villains Category:Characters Category:Human E.V.O.s Category:E.V.O.s Category:The Pack